Stratford Original BID went live
21 November, 2014 -- Stratford Town Centre is set to benefit from over £1.2 million of private sector investment after local businesses have voted in favour of creating Stratford Original, a Business Improvement District (BID) for the area.
The team of local businesses behind the BID campaign are delighted the proposal was given the green light today with 101 businesses taking part in the ballot and 72 of these voting in favour of the BID.
Carol Richards, chair of Stratford Town Centre Forum (STCF) and member of the Stratford Original BID steering group said, “As chair of STCF, I know there are many projects that could really improve Stratford Town Centre. We now have an organisation and funding in place to make these happen.”
Work on the BID proposal and campaign so far has been made possible thanks to funding from the GLA and Stratford Renaissance Partnership (SRP) as well as support from the London Borough of Newham and local Stratford businesses. BID specialists, The Means, who have set up BIDs across London and the UK were integral to the campaign’s success.
In a drive to make Stratford better for business, Stratford Original aims to:
- Make it easier to do business and cut costs
- Promote Stratford Town Centre to regular customers and new visitors
- Make the town centre more welcoming
Sir Robin Wales, Mayor of Newham said, “It is great that local businesses have voted in support of The Stratford Original BID, it will be a catalyst for further investment and strengthening the area’s ability to compete with other London high streets. The council is committed to working with our local businesses to ensure Stratford Town Centre is a thriving retail and leisure destination and we look forward to working with the BID to achieve this.”
40% of businesses within the proposed BID area voted in the Stratford Original BID ballot. 71% of those voted in favour of the BID with the ‘yes’ votes representing 67% of the total rateable value of all the properties that voted. In line with BID ballot regulations, Stratford Original needed to secure at least 51% of ‘yes’ votes on both counts to win the ballot.
The full BID term will last for five years from April 2015 to April 2020. Nearly 250 businesses with a rateable value of more than £10,000 will contribute a levy up to a maximum of 1.5% of their rateable value every year to the BID. This will generate over £1.2 million of private sector funds that will be reinvested back into Stratford Town Centre.
Cathy Low, Stratford Original Steering Group said, “We would like to thank all the businesses for their support throughout the campaign, for having confidence in Stratford Original and for voting ‘yes’. We could not have achieved this without their backing.”
The Stratford Original BID proposal, which sets out the BID’s 10 pledges can be downloaded below.
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